Greek Bronze Olpe

With large eyes and applied pupils, accentuated nose and open mouth with protruding tongue, hair indicated with regularly disposed lines; repaired, western Greek workmanship; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 142 grams total, 15.5 cm including stand



Ex Mr M.Q.F, Horgen, Switzerland, 1971. with Galerie Rhéa, Zurich, Switzerland.

A Gorgoneion was a protective symbol in ancient Greek art that depicts the head of the Gorgon, a mythical creature with snakes for hair and a terrifying gaze that could turn people to stone. The Gorgoneion was believed to have the power to ward off evil and protect the person who wore it or displayed it. The image of the Gorgoneion was often used as an apotropaic symbol to ward off evil or bad luck. It was often depicted on shields, armour, or even as an architectural feature on buildings. The symbol was also sometimes used in jewellery, such as amulets or pendants, and was believed to bring good luck and protection to the wearer. The most famous depiction of the Gorgoneion is probably the one on the aegis of the goddess Athena.

Comprising beads encasing gold foil beneath a transparent glass layer, strung in three separate strands of various lengths. 19.74 grams total, 10-26.5 cm



Prince collection, 1990s-2014. Ex private collection 1970s-1990s.

Of Plain Style, comprising a broad mouth and neck with torus rim, vertical handles with central rib, bulbous body, stepped disc foot; laurel wreath on the neck and a meander pattern to the lower body; Side a) a youth wearing a himation and shoes, before him a woman carrying a basket and a fillet, wearing a sleeveless chiton, himation, and a sphendone (a fillet decorated by black dots), between the two figures a standing goose before a large flower, a suspended mirror above the figures; Side b) a draped young boy holding a ball and a strigil, the slightly taller youth dressed in a himation and leaning on a staff, a haunch of meat hanging between the figures. 2.49 kg, 33.5 cm



with Bonhams, London, 13 April 2000, no.167. Private collection, Suffolk. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12903-242647.

The haunch of meat (note the hoof), was a type of 'love gift' seen in Attic vase-painting. It could also refer to honorary shares of sacrificial meat: animal sacrifice had been a central part of Greek religious life since the Prehistoric era.